Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

In a prime example of how the world has gone fairly fucking insane, fast food companies and sugary drink providers have their finger lickin' mitts all over high performance sport. McDonald's is in bed with FIFA and the Olympics, KFC is into cricket and rugby (where's the chicken cannon, Colonel?), Wendy's is a long-time supporter of the Warriors, Coca-Cola is practically everywhere and now Burger King has shacked up with boxer Joseph Parker—and he's already making some outrageous demands.

Overseas, Burger King has had a long connection to boxing, according to Vice, with ads featuring Evander Holyfield, sponsorship of the Jamaican team and terrible product placements in video games. Its mascot, The King, recently accompanied Floyd Mayweather into the stadium for his fight against Manny Pacquiao and, according to Business Insider, it paid $1 million for the privilege and got a whole heap of attention, much of it negative for supporting someone who has twice been convicted of domestic violence.

Over here, Burger King has already put its name on the Road to the Title events, and, just as it has done with the Breakers, where it occasionally gives away burger vouchers when the team wins or scores over 100 points, the obsequious marketing toadies depicted in the ad also wisely decide to take Parker's suggestions on board and are offering $2 Whoppers to everyone if he wins his fight on Saturday.

It's generally not a great idea to get sponsored athletes to act in ads (and many brands, like Mastercard, have embraced the silent approach). But Parker does a pretty good job. And bringing an element of customer reward to show support is a smart sponsorship move.

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Thinking outside the box: James Warburton and Mike Watkins on the future of APN Outdoor and billboards

After a performance that could be compared to stalling in 2017, StopPress sits down with APN Outdoor chief executive James Warburton, and general manager for New Zealand Mike Watkins, to hear how APN Outdoor is tracking financially, approaching the digital rollout and where they see the industry heading in the future.

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